


Loverboy

by CharlieBradbury



Series: Lovers and Caffeine-Fiends [3]
Category: Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Bruce Banner has the patience of a rock, Domestic, Loki isn't happy about it, M/M, Moving In Together, ish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-23
Updated: 2013-01-23
Packaged: 2017-11-26 14:41:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/651447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharlieBradbury/pseuds/CharlieBradbury
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Due to unfortunate circumstances, Loki is unable to stay in his lavish apartment.  Bruce convinces him to move in with him, but knows that action like this in the early stages of a relationship could potentially ruin it.</p>
<p>But Loki really, really, really doesn't want to live with his brother again.</p>
<p>(Angsty fluffy one-shot about Bruce and Loki moving in together.  Sort-of sequel to Cap's Coffee, but can be read as a stand-alone.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Loverboy

**Author's Note:**

> This was a little mini-sequel to my story Cap's Coffee that my brain wouldn't leave alone. Bruce/Loki was a pairing that I didn't plan for in my story, but then it happened and I found out that it is fucking adorable so here it is. Also, sex! Yay sex!
> 
> You don't have to have read Cap's Coffee to read this. It's a standalone.

“Hey, loverboy!” Tony calls out, snapping his fingers at Bruce. Which is completely unnecessary, Bruce is aware that Tony’s trying to get his attention. He just needs another moment or two to process the text he’d just received from Loki. His…well, Loki seems to shy away from discussions of what their relationship could actually be called, no matter what tactic Bruce used. “Seriously, Bruce-“

“Tony?” he asks sharply, glaring up at his partner/boss. Bruce takes in the heat resistant gloves on his hands, the tongs clasped in his fingers, and the slightly smoking beaker- “Oh.”

“Yeah, ‘oh.’ Got that one open?” Tony says without malice.

“Yeah, here-“ The container next to him opens with a flick on the latch. “Sorry, I didn’t-“

“No, no. It’s cool,” Tony grunts as he pours the liquid from the beaker into the waiting container. “Trouble in paradise?”

Bruce snorts a short laugh as he closes the container. “If this is paradise, I’d hate to see purgatory.”

Tony laughs with him, setting the beaker down in a nearby sink. “True that. Now how long do we wait for the results again?” Bruce slips his phone back in his pocket as he tells Tony for the fifth time.

\----

Boxes are strewn across the living room, some opened and half full of belongings, the others taped shut with multiple layers of wrinkled packing tape. Thor sighs as he notes that the majority of the boxes are open and barely occupied. “Brother?” he calls. He hears a muffled response from down the hall. He finds Loki in the center of his bedroom, surrounded by books and old photos with his cell phone resting on his thigh. He leans against the doorway, watching his younger brother card through old color prints of their home, an ocean away and better left in memory. “I thought you swore you burned those whilst in college?”

Loki huffs, still gazing at the pictures. “Did you honestly believe I would let memories of Sleipnir go?” 

“No, but I try not to disbelieve what you tell me,” Thor says.

Shaking his head, Loki begins gathering up the photos. “I suppose these will have to go into storage, considering your apartment will barely contain my necessities.”

“Yes, well I hope that doesn’t bother you,” Thor says with a grin.

Loki grimaces, turned away from his brother. He resists the urge to crumple the photo in his hand (a thirteen year old Loki peeks from the shadow of a building as a fifteen year old Thor corrals three close friends in for a group hug, all loose smiles and half-formed guffaws). “I’m left with few other options.”

“True. Still I do not see why you refused to ask Banner if you could-“

“I’m enough of a burden on him,” Loki interrupts. “I don’t need to be more troublesome than I already am.”

Thor considers this, on top of all the other reasons that Loki’s given him over the past couple of weeks. He believes this is the real reason Dr. Banner is unaware that Loki can no longer afford his apartment. “Either way, you must tell him at some point, mustn’t you?”

Loki slumps slightly, sitting on his hardwood floor on his knees. His fingers twitch towards his cell phone. “Yes,” he says. “I suppose I must. But really, I think I-we should focus on getting my belongings sorted.” He runs a hand lightly over the dark stained wood of his nearby dresser. “If we used some rope to secure the drawers, do you think you and your bulky friends could move this without removing the clothes?”

Thor laughs. “Volstagg would consider it a challenge, as would I.”

“Good then, I tire of packing-“ Loki freezes as he hears his door open. Thor tenses up as he turns to see who it is.

“Ah! Dr. Banner,” he greets jovially. Loki relaxes, like one would before approaching the gallows. He swiftly gathers up his pictures, trying to finish his task before Bruce enters the room which is all too full of memories. He focuses so hard on the task at hand that he fails to notice his brother leave as quietly as is possible for him, or that Bruce enters the room and crouches down on the floor.

“Is…is this Fenrir?” he asks, holding a picture delicately.

Loki acts as if he hasn’t been caught by surprise, and answers casually, “Hm? Yes, when she was young. Her adult coat hadn’t come in yet.”

Bruce nods his head at the off-hand comment, giving Loki the well-cared-for photo. Loki takes it and carefully puts it back in its proper box. “So. You’re moving?” he says unnecessarily. The short text that he’d received told him as much.

“Well, you can’t very well expect a barista to afford a place like this.”

“I know. But. You-you didn’t say anything about it-“

“It’s been handled. I’ll stay with Thor until I can find some place within my budget-“

“You know you can talk to me about this sort of thing, I mean it’s not like I’m a closed door around you.” Bruce can feel his heartrate accelerate, but he can’t find it within himself to care. He’s grown tired of Loki’s inability to share anything with him but the most necessary things, and hey if he happens to pass out while talking about it maybe Loki would finally take him seriously.

“I. . .” Loki pauses, slamming a drawer shut on his dresser before hastily checking it for damage. Bruce knows the story of that dresser, how Loki found it on a corner, grimy and dirty but sturdy and firm under the dust and filth. How he took it home, sanded and stained and sealed it. How Loki preened over it when Bruce noticed its loveliness; its shape and form, its silhouette, the gorgeous paint job that just made it even more impressive. Bruce knows this, and he remembers how distant Loki had been after he’d told the story as if he needed to recover after being so open about a prized possession. “Bruce, I couldn’t stand that you would know of this failure. I-I feel like a failure. And more than that-“

Bruce can see that he’s retreating into himself. Loki had slipped past his walls for a moment, but now he’s horrified, and withdrawing as quickly as he could. His hand shook around the plastic photo case, his bottom lip was white under the pressure of his teeth. “Loki,” he whispers before moving to lay his hand on his—on the shoulder of the person he cares for.

“This place; this apartment,” Loki says brokenly, sagging under the weight of Bruce’s light touch. “I’ve been here for almost six years. Ever since Thor and I came here.” He slides his angry gaze over the room. “This is my home. The only home I’ve gotten to make for myself. And it’s being taken away from me because of a little thing like money? It’s…it’s insane.”

“Come here,” Bruce says quietly. Loki doesn’t bother hesitating before closing the distance between them. Bruce’s arms come around him firmly, squeezing him close. There’s no sense of panic, no urge to either run or turn the embrace into something less comforting. Scowling, Loki lets himself curl against Bruce’s sturdy frame.

“I hate you sometimes,” he murmurs.

Bruce chuckles and presses a kiss against the side of Loki’s head. “I don’t doubt it. Wanna move in with me?” Loki tenses up, about to pull away and argue, before Bruce continues. “My place accepts pets, and I like dogs.”

Huffing a breath, Loki relaxes again. “I don’t need charity.”

“No, I know. I’m not at the house much anyway, I’m either at work or well, here. I’d feel better about taking up one of Tony’s townhouses if someone was there to actually enjoy the place sometimes.” Bruce runs his hands up and down Loki’s back, rubbing the tense muscles under the expensive sage green shirt.

“Well,” Loki whines as he nearly melts into the other man’s arms, “If it’s on Stark’s bill, I suppose I’m in no position to refuse.”

“There you go,” Bruce chuckles darkly. “I’d encourage you to leave all the lights on and run up his power bill, but that’s not really good for the environment.”

“Always so conscientious.” Loki leans back to kiss him lazily, raking his fingernails up Bruce’s arms. “Come on then. One last romp before I have to bid this room goodbye?”

“Yeah, I think that’d be okay,” Bruce says conversationally, walking and nudging Loki backwards until they both fall onto the bed, laughing.

\----

The townhouse that Tony lent to Bruce (when he found out the doctor was living out of a hotel because he was too busy to actually go househunting) was supposed to be only a temporary thing. But that was a year ago, and Tony refuses to kick Bruce out. That property was left over from when Tony had gone on a home-buying rampage when he was twenty. And drunk. Needless to say he’d eventually resold most of them but kept a few because who knows when he’d need an extra place.

Loki-knowing Tony far too well-expected some obnoxiously modern architecture, lots of glass and stainless steel. Sitting primly in the passenger seat of a huge pick-up truck-Sif’s vehicle, which she uses to assist her father’s business-he’s surprised when they stop in front of an older building. Dark brown bricks and bright white window frames loom over him, unassuming and completely forgettable. Bruce comes out of a door from the very last unit on the end of the block, a hopeful smile on his face. Loki fights back a grin of his own.

The first week is rough. Bruce insisted that Loki could take the other bedroom for his own, if he felt the need to keep his own space. Loki merely sniffed at the suggestion and threw a bag of clothes on the floor of Bruce's bedroom, then turned to the closet and began shoving Bruce’s few clothes to the side to make room for his wardrobe. Bruce just shook his head and went to get the rest of Loki’s clothes. That night, when they flop into bed exhausted, Bruce lays on his back expecting Loki to curl up partially on top of him as he usually does. But Loki keeps his distance, turned on his side and away from him.

“You’re sulking,” he says flatly.

“I am not.” Bruce doesn’t argue with him. He just waits patiently. “Why haven’t I been here before now?”

“You never asked?” Bruce answers tentatively. “And when we were getting together you’d always just say that we’d meet at your place. I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable by demanding you come over or anything.”

“Do I seem that easy to scare off?” Loki asks with a sad laugh. He falls silent again. Bruce watches the blankets rise and fall slowly around Loki’s body, the streetlight through the window highlighting the line of his shoulders and side and hip. “Why didn’t you want me to share your bedroom?”

Bruce almost chokes. “No, I didn’t-it’s not that I didn’t want to share it, I just. We haven’t been dating all that long; and this is supposed to be a temporary thing right? You living here, I mean. I didn’t want you to feel like you had to sleep in here if you didn’t want to. I didn’t want to smother you, but I want you to feel at home here if it’s possible.”

Loki snorts loudly at him. “If you want me to feel at home then just treat me like you always have. Not like some wilting flower that must be handled delicately.”

Bruce stretches out a foot and bumps it against Loki’s leg. “I’ll keep that in mind.” They fall asleep separated by a foot and a half of space, but when Bruce wakes up to the incessant beeping of his alarm clock, Loki’s facing him and resting a hand on his wrist. He smiles crookedly and reaches over to trace a finger lightly along Loki’s sharp jaw line.

\----

The next day is Sunday, and Tony absolutely refuses to let Bruce come in to the lab on Sundays. Considering that they both have a bad tendency to just keep working regardless of time or when the last time either of them had more than coffee in their stomach, Bruce accepts this and uses this day to relax most of the time. This Sunday unfortunately, involves helping Loki unpack and set up the spare bedroom with some of his things.

“It can’t go there, Bruce! Look-it’ll go much better over here.”

“Seriously? It looks the same to me.”

“Are we looking at the same thing?!” Loki snarls as he takes the hammer from Bruce and ruthlessly beats a nail into the wall. He manages two swings before he misses, drops the hammer to the floor and stomps away, cursing and grabbing at his thumb.

Bruce has the grace to let him leave the room before dissolving into silent laughter. He eventually picks up the hammer and finishes putting the picture frame up. He stares at the swirling black and blue lines, the blotches of green, and decides he can’t make heads or tails of it. He hears a crashing noise from downstairs and calmly goes to investigate.

He finds Loki leaning sullenly over the sink, the faucet running over his injured digit. The plastic bowl of fruit scattered on the ground used to sit on the counter next to him. Bruce doesn’t hesitate to lean over his back, wrapping his arms around the skinnier man’s middle loosely. “What’s bothering you?”

Loki tenses up as he gripes, “It’s just frustrating. Moving. Settling in.” He relaxes into Bruce’s arms and quietly continues. “It’s exhausting.”

“So let’s take a break,” Bruce suggests easily, running his hands roughly down Loki’s thighs.

Loki laughs as he turns the water off. “And what kind of break did you have in m-mm!” He bites his words off as Bruce slips a hand inside his sweatpants, going straight for his flaccid dick.

“Your favorite kind,” Bruce whispers into his ear as he feels Loki harden in his hand. “I haven’t had sex in this kitchen.”

“I can see why,” Loki groans even as he shifts to push back into Bruce’s groin. “These counters are entirely too tall for that, too sharp.” Bruce huffs a laugh into his neck before biting down on the wiry muscle.

\----

The first thing Loki does when left alone in the house is clean the entire place meticulously. Bruce comes home late that night and notices immediately that the living room has been rearranged. He shakes his head and toes off his shoes. He almost stumbles into an ottoman, out of place and jutting out into the hallway. He knows that Loki is just trying to adjust to his new home, but irritation plucks at his tired mind as he pads quietly to the study. Everything is as it was; either Loki hadn’t gotten to it yet or he had chosen to leave this room alone. The stacks of papers and academic journals are exactly where he left them the last time he’d bothered to work from home.

The sparse dining room has been swept and the table cleaned and covered with a soft golden tablecloth. The kitchen looks cleaner than it’s been since Bruce moved in. He doesn’t want to know how the pantries look right now. He sighs and climbs the staircase up to his bedroom. He’s not surprised to find Loki sprawled out on his bed, wearing a dark gray long-sleeved tee shirt and pajama bottoms. Bruce smiles softly at the way Loki takes up so much space for someone so small. He strips down to his boxers before walking over to the bed.

“Loki,” he says softly, nudging him. Loki just snuffles and shifts his legs. Bruce chuckles quietly, before leaning over and trying to gently pull the covers out from under him. The younger man rolls over with a grumble.

“’Ruce,” he gripes before pulling his legs up to his chest and shuffling under the covers.

Bruce feels a huge smile splitting his face. He gets into bed and whispers, “Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you up.”

“Mm, but you did,” Loki croaks, his voice hoarse from sleep. He wraps his arms around Bruce, pulling him close and grinning. “I think you should make it up to me. Somehow.”

“Yeah?” Bruce says lowly. “How about,” he pauses and leans his head down to whisper in Loki’s ear. “Waffles for breakfast?”

Bruce laughs as Loki heaves a sigh and shoves him back. “Tease. Go to sleep.”

“Aw, c’mere, I didn’t mean it!”

“No, go away y’cocktease!”

They laugh and wrestle until they fall asleep, tangled up in each other’s limbs and the bed sheets. They wake up in the same position.


End file.
